1. Field
The disclosure relates to techniques for dynamically configuring a receiver to switch amongst two or more downconversion paths.
2. Background
In the design of communication circuits, a wideband receiver may be configured to simultaneously receive information on multiple channels. To do this, the wideband receiver may utilize more than one downconversion path by mixing a received radio-frequency (RF) signal with a plurality of local oscillators (LO's) each having a distinct LO frequency. For example, a first receive channel at a given center frequency may be downconverted using a first LO having a first LO frequency, while a second receive channel at a different center frequency may be downconverted using a second LO having a second LO frequency.
While providing such multiple downconversion paths may advantageously ease the channel filter and/or other rejection requirements for each downconversion path, it may also unnecessarily increase power consumption in certain cases. For example, when the interference levels due to jammers are relatively low, the improved receive performance afforded by the multiple downconversion paths may not be necessary.
It would be desirable to provide techniques for dynamically configuring a number of downconversion paths used in a wideband receiver to optimize the tradeoff between receiver performance and power consumption.